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NJ firefighters pay tribute to inspiring 7-year-old

PHIL DUNN, COURIER-POST
Published 12:06 p.m. ET Dec. 18, 2014

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A color guard and members of the Camden County Emerald Society Pipe & Drum march during the funeral for 7-year-old honorary firefighter Aiden Riebel on Wednesday.(Photo: Courier-Post photo/JOHN ZIOMEK)Buy Photo

GLOUCESTER TWP. – South Jersey said goodbye to its littlest firefighter as hundreds gathered at a Blackwood church for the funeral of 7-year-old Aiden Riebel.

The youngster, an honorary Washington Township firefighter, lost his battle with acute myeloid leukemia on Dec. 10.

“Aiden looked like an angel and as much as we will miss him — he has left his legacy,” Katie Stier, Aiden’s aunt, wrote on Facebook after the service Wednesday. “Aiden only lived for seven short years, but he lived more in seven years than most people lived in a lifetime. We are the lucky ones.”

Aiden was given a full firefighter’s service Wednesday at Our Lady of Hope Parish-St. Agnes Church. Dozens of fire departments brought their trucks. Others lined up outside the church in a synchronized salute as the Camden County Emerald Society Pipe & Drum marched up the road.

Washington Township Fire Chief Jeff Hoffman said he hopes the final tribute and service for Aiden left an impression no one will forget.

“Honorary Firefighter Aiden Riebel was an exceptional young man who showed the kind of courage, compassion, and kindness that exemplifies what being a firefighter is all about,” the chief noted. “His impact on our entire organization cannot be understated.”

Aiden fought his leukemia — a cancer of the blood and bone marrow — for about six years. He was diagnosed as a toddler, and was in remission twice before his doctors discovered the disease had returned last year.

It was around that time Aiden was sworn in as Washington Township’s first honorary firefighter. He received additional support from the Heroes Memorial Foundation, a Florida-based organization that uses social media to rally support for injured or fallen firefighters, police officers and military.

The group came together under the slogan “No one fights alone” and supported a community Facebook page called “Honorary Firefighter Aiden Riebel.”

The page has received more than 8,000 likes, and fire departments around the world listed Aiden on their rosters. They sent letters, email and care packages with patches for the boy.

“I want to thank everyone for every thought, message and prayer sent for Aiden and us, his family,” the boy’s mother, Christine Ludwig Stier, wrote on Facebook. “I know Aiden is hugging God now and he is in a place where he will no longer suffer from his cancer.”

Aiden passed away in his sleep last week with his parents by his side.